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Cassiopeia A supernova imaged by NASA’s IXPE Space Telescope for Black Hole Exploration. NASA |
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The next-generation X-ray space telescope, launched last December to explore black holes, sent the first astronomical images to Earth.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) released the first astronomical image taken and transmitted by the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explore (IXPE) for black hole exploration on the 14th (local time). It is an amazing scene where the magnetic field of Cassiopeia A supernova is shining 11,000 light-years from Earth.
NASA’s next-generation X-ray triple-camera observation satellite, IXPE, is the first space telescope capable of observing polarized X-rays using three independent telescopes to capture space phenomena such as neutron stars, black holes, dark energy and dark matter. It was launched on December 9, last year.
The probe sent its first scientific image after its first moon in space, checking various systems in preparation for capturing the first image.
The photo shows Cassiopeia A, the stellar remnant of a 17th-century supernova explosion. According to a NASA statement, the explosion sent a shock wave outward, heating the surrounding gas and accelerating the cosmic rays particles (fast electrons and atomic nuclei), creating various clouds of matter. As seen in the impressive imagery of IXPE, these clouds glow surprisingly brightly in X-ray light.
“The IXPE images of Cassiopeia A are truly beautiful, and we plan to analyze the polarimetric data to learn more about this supernova remnant,” said Paola Sopita, senior researcher at IXPE Italy at the National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) in Rome. said in a NASA statement.
The image released by NASA is a composite image taken by IXPE and another X-ray space telescope, Chandra, and the most striking feature of the image is an almost neon-like magenta color, but in visible light it doesn’t really look that way. However, this color, representing X-ray radiation, is a useful guide for scientists. The darker the color, the more intense the X-ray light. Also, what appears to be blue lightning in the image represents high-energy X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Space Telescope.
Both telescopes observe X-rays, but because they have different types of detectors, working together can produce more complete and detailed data.
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First image of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant captured in 1999 by the Chandra X-ray Space Telescope. NASA/CXC/SAO |
Chandra took and sent the same Cassiopeia A supernova as the first image since launch in 1999. The light of the supernova explosion is reflected off the interstellar material and is shining everywhere. At that time, Chandra’s photo showed that after the supernova explosion, the remains of a black hole or neutron star remained in the center, and analysis of the reflected photos reveals how far the supernova’s light was spread by striking the interstellar material.
“The Cassiopeia A supernova image taken by IXPE is as historical as the photos that Chandra has sent,” said Martin C. Weiskov, IXPE’s lead researcher, in a NASA statement. It shows the potential of IXPE to be informed.”
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NASA believes that the X-ray polarization data of the Cassiopeia A supernova transmitted this time will allow for the first time to confirm the polarization data of supernova remnants with a diameter of 10 light-years.
Currently, NASA is attempting to create the first X-ray polarization distribution map of Cassiopeia A supernova using data from the image.
Columnist Lee Kwang-sik joand999@naver.com
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